Jews of the Danish West Indies
The Danish West Indies are today the US Virgin Islands.
It is reported that King Christian V of Denmark appointed a Jewish governor to St Thomas in 1684. Gabriel Milan (born about 1631) was an international soldier of fortune who came from a family with connections in Portugal, Flanders and Hamburg. He was related to the da Costa and de Castro families. He served as governor for two years.
H.C. Terslin has written a Danish-language biography of Gabriel Milan who apparently identified himself in correspondence as Don Franco de Tebary Cordova (could that be Francisco Teixeira Cordoba?).
Moses Joshua Henriques appears to have played a role in the negotiations between the Danish West India Company and the Prussian Brandenburg Company for promoting the slave trade between Guinea and St Thomas.
A number of Wills of people resident on other islands, notably Curacao, were registered in the Danish West Indies. These records (Kilder til historien om den danske koloni i Vestindien) are held in the Danish National Archives.
I am guessing that some researchers – especially those who know of family connections with places like Altona or Hamburg – might find valuable information in the Danish State Archives. The Archives website tells us:
“The three small Caribbean islands of St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix – currently known as the United States Virgin Islands – were a Danish Colony for over two hundred years. The Danes settled on St. Thomas around 1670, on St. John in 1718, and on St. Croix in 1733.”
“Today, the Danish National Archives in Copenhagen have well over 1,500 metres of archival material relating to the Danish West Indies from 1671-1917. These records are separated according to origin, into what are known as “West Indian Local Archives”, “Revised West India Accounts”, and “Other West Indian records”.”
“Before you start researching the vast amount of archival material it is important to familiarise yourself with the literature available on Danish West Indian history. A comprehensive bibliographical essay can be found in:
Erik Goebel, A Guide to Sources for the History of the Danish West Indies (U. S. Virgin Islands), 1671-1917, Odense: University Press of Southern Denmark, 2002.
The contents of the Guide are available online, and it is also possible to order the book over the internet.”
I would not be surprised to see Spanish and Portuguese names amongst the shareholders of the Danish Vestindisk-guineisk Kompagni (West India and Guinea Company).
St. Croix
“St. Croix did apparently enjoy a somewhat larger community during this time, which may have peaked around 1764 with the construction of a synagogue in Christiansted and the acquisition of a Torah. The building is reported to have burned down two years later, however, and was never rebuilt: from this point, the St. Croix Jewish community waned, eventually becoming a satellite of what would soon be the rising St. Thomas Hebrew Congregation.”
Judah M. Cohen. Through the Sands of Time: A History of the Jewish Community of St. Thomas. Page 3.
St John
This is following on from the report on St Thomas:
“An even sparser representation of Jews existed on St. John, with only two intriguing yet unconfirmed names from this time on the taxpayers’ list.”
Judah M. Cohen. Through the Sands of Time: A History of the Jewish Community of St. Thomas. Page 3.
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